Why this ride
A 440 km round trip from Gernika-Lumo - roughly 8 h 13 in the saddle. On the way it passes Collégiale de Ziortza, Ekain, Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian and Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Santimamiñe and Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 440 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 13
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Basque Coast Route
For about 25 km this is Basque Coast Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 25 km
- Named road
- Basque Coast Route
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
41 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 86 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Santimamiñe
In 1916, a group of boys exploring a hillside in the Basque Country found paintings deep inside a cave, and Santimamiñe became one of the most important prehistoric sites in the region. The cave, near Kortezubi in the Urdaibai valley, contains Magdalenian paintings of bison, horses, goats and deer, made around fourteen thousand years ago, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of cave art of northern Spain. To protect the paintings, the cave itself is closed to the public, but a visitor centre offers a virtual tour that recreates the interior in detail, with guides explaining the art and the people who made it.
Read the complete Santimamiñe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Santimamiñe is where the day begins. Next is Collégiale de Ziortza.
2. Collégiale de Ziortza
High on a green hillside above the village of Bolibar, in the Biscayan interior, the collegiate church of Ziortza looks out over a valley of meadows, farmhouses and eucalyptus and pine plantations. It is a tranquil, solid place, a church and cloister built of grey stone with a fortified look, and it stands on the Camino del Norte, the coastal route to Santiago, so you will often see pilgrims resting on the benches outside.
Read the complete Collégiale de Ziortza write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Collégiale de Ziortza comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ekain.
3. Ekain
In 1969 two young men exploring a hillside above the Sastarrain valley near Zestoa crawled into a narrow opening and found themselves in a gallery of painted horses. Ekain is one of the finest Palaeolithic painted caves in Europe, its walls covered with images of horses, bison and other animals made some fourteen thousand years ago with remarkable skill. The horses in particular are famous, drawn with shaggy manes and round bellies, so lively that they seem about to move.
Read the complete Ekain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 72 km into the recorded legs you reach Ekain. Next is Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian.
4. Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Imagine a mountain with a hole through it, and a medieval road running straight through the hole. The tunnel of San Adrián is a natural cave passage near the crest of the Aizkorri range, on the border of Gipuzkoa and Álava, and for centuries it carried one of the main routes between the Castilian plateau and the Basque coast. Pilgrims on the inland Camino de Santiago, merchants, armies and kings all passed through it, and a small chapel was built inside the cave. The old paved road leading up to it survives in sections, worn smooth by centuries of hooves and boots.
Read the complete Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian, about halfway. Next is Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz.
5. Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of the Basque Country and possibly its most underrated city. It sits on a high plateau, the Llanada Alavesa, surrounded by low mountains and wide farmland, and its medieval old town climbs a small hill in the shape of an almond, with the old cathedral of Santa María at the top. This is the cathedral the label refers to, a Gothic church begun in the thirteenth century as both a temple and part of the town's defences.
Read the complete Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz sits at 135 km, about halfway. Next is back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian.
6. back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian comes up about 306 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Ekain.
7. back through Ekain
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ekain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 365 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Ekain. Next is back through Collégiale de Ziortza.
8. back through Collégiale de Ziortza
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Collégiale de Ziortza write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Collégiale de Ziortza, late in the day. Next is Santimamiñe.
9. Santimamiñe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Santimamiñe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 440 km.
Leg by leg
Santimamiñe to Collégiale de Ziortza
Santimamiñe → Collégiale de Ziortza is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Collégiale de Ziortza to Ekain
Collégiale de Ziortza → Ekain is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ekain to Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Ekain → Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian to Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz is 86 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz to back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz → back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian is 86 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian to back through Ekain
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → back through Ekain is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ekain to back through Collégiale de Ziortza
back through Ekain → back through Collégiale de Ziortza is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Collégiale de Ziortza to Santimamiñe
back through Collégiale de Ziortza → Santimamiñe is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.